A grantmaker is betting a TV show for teen girls can help narrow the STEM gender gap

abcnews.go.com:

Dallas philanthropist Lyda Hill has devoted much of her giving to tackling social problems through science

Dallas philanthropist Lyda Hill has devoted much of her giving to tackling social problems through science. Her Lyda Hill Philanthropies supports museums, basic research, and programs like National Geographic Explorers.

Over the last few years, the grantmaker also has ventured into media production: financing and helping develop a TV series, “Mission Unstoppable,” aimed at girls aged 13 to 17, which features women succeeding in science, technology, engineering, and math, or STEM, careers.

The CBS series — which is one part entertainment and one part feminist career inspiration — has averaged a million broadcast viewers in its first two seasons and has been nominated for multiple Emmy awards. It’s also part of a growing recognition in the philanthropic community that TV shows, feature films, podcasts, and other media projects are powerful tools to reach new audiences and shift entrenched narratives, what insiders call “narrative change.” Since 2009, grantmakers have given at least $2.1 billion to television-related projects, according to data from Candid and Media Impact Funders, a network of grantmakers.

Narrative change draws on disciplines like communications and movement organizing to help people rethink the stories that define their worldview. Over the past decade, writers, filmmakers, marketing executives, nonprofits and philanthropies, scholars, and advocates have increasingly collaborated on strategies to tell stories that shape attitudes or beliefs and motivate people to act. Those might include projects to strengthen grass-roots news outlets, help advocates and organizers identify the most effective ways to